Ó Catháin and King qualify for European Youth Olympics

Two local athletes have been selected to take part in the European Youth Olympics Festival (EYOF). Kiltoom athlete Lorcán Ó Catháin and Our Lady"s Bower student Caoimhe King will compete in the EYOF which takes place in the City of Tampere in Finland, from July 18 to July 25. Lorcán Ó Catháin was quarter of a second inside the EYOF qualifying time for the 200m race, when he ran recently at the Irish Schools Track & Field championships in Tullamore. Lorcán"s time of 22.16 secs earned him the gold medal in the event. He also garnered silver in the 100m race, finishing in a time of 10.92 secs. Buoyed by a string of successes on the track so far this year, Lorcán will travel to Finland confident of his ability to compete against a strong international field. In April, the 16-year-old Marist College student achieved gold, silver and bronze medals in the under-18 200m, 60m and 400m races at the Woodie"s DIY/AAI Juvenile Indoor Championships in Magherafelt, Co Derry. Earlier in spring, he won three gold medals at the Connaught Indoor Championships held in Nenagh, in the 60m, 200m, and 400m races. Caoimhe King is the Irish junior record holder in the triple jump, both outdoor and indoor. Competing as a guest in the Munster championships last month, Caoimhe added the outdoor junior triple jump record to the indoor junior record she set in Belfast in February. Her effort of 12.52m bettered the 11.91m effort of Mary McLoone in 1998. That jump meant Caoimhe was inside the qualifying standard for the European Youth Olympics and the World Youth Championships. Caoimhe also broke the Irish schools record when competing in the Irish Track & Field Championships in Tullamore with a jump of 12.46. This jump smashed the previous Irish record of 11.73, which had stood for some time. The World Youth Championships take place in Italy from July 8 to July 12. At the time of going to press, the Irish team had yet to be announced but, as it"s quite close to the European Youth Olympics, some athletes may decide not to compete in both events. A member of Westport Athletics Club, Caoimhe trained during the school year at Athlone IT, where she is trained by Sandra Ó Catháin, Lorcán"s mother. Caoimhe used to play basketball and Gaelic football with Our Lady"s Bower where she is a boarder, but is now concentrating on athletics. 'She used to do the high jump and did very well at it but she"s now focusing on the triple jump,' her mother Fiona told the "Westmeath Independent".The 17-year-old was also a member of the Bower 4 X 100m senior relay team which finished second in the All-Ireland schools Track & Field championships in Tullamore. The European Youth Olympics Festival is a biennial multi-sport event features young athletes from the 49 member countries of the association of European Olympic Committees. Young European athletes will compete in nine sports: athletics, basketball, cycling, gymnastic, handball, judo, swimming, tennis and volleyball.